1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of controlled playback of audiovisual works based on program content and viewer preference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Movies and videos currently have a content xe2x80x9cratingxe2x80x9d which is used to control access to the work by minors. The movie ratings system in the United States has been determined by producers (distributors, dealers) voluntarily. According to the document xe2x80x9cTHE MOVIE BUSINESS BOOK, pp 396-406, xe2x80x98THE VOLUNTARY MOVIE RATING SYSTEMxe2x80x99xe2x80x9d, the ratings are broken down into five categories of:
xe2x80x9cGxe2x80x9d, General Audiencesxe2x80x94All ages admitted;
xe2x80x9cPGxe2x80x9d, Parental Guidance Suggestedxe2x80x94Some material may not be suitable for children;
xe2x80x9cPG-13xe2x80x9d, Parents strongly cautionedxe2x80x94Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13;
xe2x80x9cRxe2x80x9d, Restricted, under 17xe2x80x94Requires accompanying parent or adult guardian; and
xe2x80x9cNC-17xe2x80x9dxe2x80x94No children under 17 admitted.
Therefore, in accordance with these assignments, entrance to a movie theater is restricted and selling or renting of a video tape, may likewise be restricted. Currently, one rating level is assigned to an entire movie, and this rating level is utilized for comparison with the ages of patrons of a movie theater or buyers/renters at a video shop. However, only small portions of the work may be the cause of a particular rating (e.g., scenes which contain violence, objectionable language, adult situations, nudity, etc.). Additionally, a rating assigned by a standards body may not conform to a standard that an individual viewing or previewing the work for a younger family member would assign. Accordingly, a parent may desire to preview a work to determine what rating is appropriate for younger family members. However, completely previewing a work takes a fairly long time. Therefore, it is an unpleasant task, and in some instances, is forgone completely in favor of the pre-assigned ratings.
Currently, newer technologies such as digital video disk (DVD) allow for sanitized versions of a work to reside on the same disc as the original work. By setting a given xe2x80x9cParental Level,xe2x80x9d corresponding to a desired permissible ratings level, the software of the DVD player will allow a reviewer to pick and play the set level for the work. Parental levels restrict either the playback of an entire work or of certain scenes (comprised of video frames) of the work. Parental level codes are placed on the disc in each scene so that the user can automatically select the proper path from scene to scene. This allows multiple rating versions of a movie to be put on a single disc. For this to work, the video must be carefully broken down into scenes. Objectionable scenes must be coded so that they can be skipped over, or alternate versions of the scenes must be provided and appropriately coded. This does not really solve the problem, however, because a viewer is still relying on the judgment of the standard setter to define the ratings levels. If a parent wants to check the pre-assigned ratings level for a work as a whole, or for scenes of the work, a full length preview of the work is still required. Other parental ratings control systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,905,845, 5,757,417, 5,691,972, 5,737,479, and 5,598,276.
What is needed is a way of previewing only scenes of a work which may be objectionable. By only viewing those scenes causing a negative rating, time of review can be shortened, and reviewing individuals, e.g. a parent, can more quickly and easily check the conformity of the rating by the standards body with their own priorities and values.
In one aspect of the invention, a method for controlling reproduction of a displayable work stored on a recording medium the work having at least one assigned ratings level associated with at least one scene is provided. The method further provides receiving a ratings level input, selecting all scenes of the work which have a rating level equal to a received ratings level input, displaying the selected scenes and receiving a first input command accepting or rejecting selected and displayed scenes for later viewing.
In another aspect of the invention, an apparatus for controlling reproduction of a displayable work stored on a recording medium the work having at least one assigned ratings level associated with at least one scene is provided. The apparatus further provides a reproduction device for selectively reproducing scenes from a recording medium, a display device coupled to the reproduction device for displaying the selectively reproduced scenes and a controller responsive to entry of a first ratings level for controlling the reproduction device to cause the selective reproduction and display of scenes from a recording medium having the entered ratings level and for recording an entered accept or reject command associated with the displayed scenes.